Developing Talent

Posted by Maria Costasnovo in Photography

Graphic design student Abel Anaya had an innate talent in photography, and had even been hired in the field, but prior to this semester at Santa Fe University of Art and Design, he had never taken a photography class before. Now, he says, “I am learning how to be critical in my work and in other works; also how to read a photograph, how to define the aesthetics… A lot of things that I didn’t know before. I didn’t know much about this school, but [Universidad Del Valle De México] UVM and SFUAD were giving some scholarships, so I decided to come here and it’s amazing. I am learning a lot of things in the field that I like. Every class is great and the professors push me to do things that I didn’t know that I could do. I just love it,” Anaya says.

Anaya’s interest in photography began when he was 12 or 13. “There was only one photographer in my family, my aunt, and she was always taking photographs in the family gatherings. I love how people change in front of a camera.”

The photographers that inspire him are the ones who “don’t care about anything and they do what they love” such as Helmut Newton, Ryan Mcginley, Juergen Teller and Tim Walker. However, Anaya learned almost everything that he knows just by himself:

“I used to assist my photographer friends in my free time, and that helped me a lot to know the technical stuff about photography,” Anaya says. But [mostly] I just learned it by myself, practicing and taking a lot of pictures.”

Anaya particularly loves fashion photography, portraits and contemporary photographs, and thanks to his innate talent, he secured his first jobs.
“I worked for a graphic designer in my city [Guadalara, Mexico]. He taught me how to merge photography and graphic design to create illusions, which is something that I love. I had a good experience working with him, because I love photography and graphic design, which is my actual degree, so I could use both together, which is amazing. I worked as a freelance photographer for some local fashion magazines as well.”

For Anaya, what is most important is having goals to succeed in life. When asked how he sees his career in 10 years, he says: “I imagine myself having my own business of fashion and advertising photography with some exhibitions of my work. I have a lot of goals for the next 10 years.”

One of Anaya’s photographs.
You can find more in http://abelanaya.blogspot.com/